Families are having great difficulty remaining intact. Statistics on divorce and family dysfunction demonstrate the need for preventive intervention to strengthen couple relationships. These interventions must be based on deeper understanding of couple relationship development before, during, and after the birth of a first child. The proposed study has two aims: 1) To measure and describe the natural history of becoming a family; the focus will be on pre-birth couple relationship variables associated with healthy couple adaptation to becoming a family. 2) To evaluate an innovative, preventive intervention designed to facilitate couple adaptation to parenthood. Fourteen instruments will be used to assess individual and couple patterns on four relationship dimensions and one social environment dimension: psychological sense of self; role behaviors; communication patterns; family environment; support network and life stress events. In all, 100 couples in four conditions will complete the instruments. Fifty couples will be assessed during mid-pregnancy, at 6 months and 18 months after childbirth; 25 of them will also participate in small weekly groups from mid-pregnancy to 3 months after childbirth, with discussion focusing on responses to the instruments and on daily issues in the lives of couples. Another 25 couples will be assessed only after childbirth -- at 6 and 18 months after becoming parents. Finally, 25 couples, equivalent to the others but not in a transition to parenthood, will be assessed at two points in their relationship. Results will have significance for basic knowledge of couple relationship development, particularly during family formation. The results will also assist in the future planning of preventive interventions to facilitate the transition to parenthood.